Legend of the Sand and Sun
by CrimsonbloodAnime
Summary: A single blade of light flickers out though the darkness. Kyimara of the Sapphire Sky is Gaara's old childhood friend. And she is now determined to protect him even at the cost of her life. Set five years in the future. SasuXSaku NaruXHina ShikaXTema NejiXTen SaiXIno
1. Chapter 1

Legend of the Sand and Sun

You are a Sapphire

Bright, Bold and Beautiful.

Never forget that.

Never let anyone else tell you differently

And always fight for what you believe in.

A single blade of light flickered off from the sand hills as the sun set. A small boy was sitting on a swing, closely holding the ropes on the sides. People pointed and yelled as they walked by him. He was lonely, wanting nothing more but to have a friend. Was that too much to ask? No one accepted him for who he was. They always called him a monster. A 'terrible curse to this once peaceful land.' But it was true that he was a monster. He was the One-tails Jinchuriki anyways.

"Hey it's the little monster who has no friends!" A boy a little bit older than him pointed. The boy's two friends joined in and laughed.

"You outcast! Just get out of here! No one wants you!" A girl snickered; he lowered his head on the swing. Just trying to ignore them. A shadow fell upon him, he looked up at it. A young girl with beautiful brown hair was standing in front of him, her arms spread out protecting him.

"If you ask me, you're the real monsters here!" She defended him, his eyes widened at the girl. The two boys and the girl were absolutely shocked. No one had ever come to his rescue before, because no one had the guts to.

"What are you doing defending him?" The boy who spoke in the first time asked.

"Well no one else will. So I figured that I would." She looked at him out from the corner of her eye.

"But why?" He asked again. His two friends had a shocked expression in their eyes.

"Because he has the same look that I use to have, the look that he wants a friend. And as long as I am breathing, I will make sure that no one else has that loneliness in their eyes!" She yelled, the three kids backed off and ran away. As soon as she was certain that they weren't going to come back, she turned around and looked at him. Kindness shining in her sapphire colored eyes; the girl was about a year younger than him. But yet she stood up to the kids who were bullying him. Even though they were a lot older and bigger than she was.

"Are you alright?" She asked, smiling down at him. _Why did she defend me?_ He desperately thought, but ended up nodding at her question. She made a funny face at him. "Come on then, you can give a better answer than just a head nod." He blinked and tried to find his voice.  
"I am fine." He finally replied. She smiled even wider at him.

"What's your name?"

"G-Gaara."

"Well nice to meet you Gaara. My name is Kyimara!" Kyimara kept smiling and took his hand, forcing him to stand up. "Let be friends!"


	2. Chapter 2

I blinked out from my memories. _That was such a long time ago. I wonder how he is doing. _I sighed, looking up at the full moon. A cold breeze started up, blowing my long, dark brown hair in the midnight sky. I leaned back against the tree, never taking my eyes from the sky. I stood up and jumped down from the tree branch heading into the pitch-black forest. I quickly disappeared in its darkness. My name is Kyimara, and yes, I was the one who saved Gaara all of those years ago. Gaara and I grew quite close after that. He was my first friend. I had to leave him though after that day. My father wasn't a very good person. He raised me to be a cold-blooded killer. I didn't play outside like all of the other kids my age did. Day in and out he trained me. From sunrise to sunset, we were out training. I hated it, and needless to say. I grew up pretty quick. I soon realized that hatred and revenge didn't get you anywhere in life. So I decided that I would fight for what I believed in. Like my mother told me the day she died. For the past five years I have been working as a bounty hunter. I had grown quite famous actually. I have even had Kages come to me for assistance. Most bounty hunters die within two years of doing their job. But I (obviously) haven't died yet. So the Kages found that impressive.

I grabbed my black hood and put it on, making the hood cover my eyes. I never stay in the same place for more than a couple of days. I learned that the hard way when someone came after me. They tried assassinating me in my sleep. It didn't end very well for either of us. I ended up injured and they died. The sun was just starting to rise as I took off. I had decided earlier that I was going to head towards the Village Hidden in the Clouds. It always had a lot of jobs ready for me. I kept on running, my breath steady. My eyes widened and I quickly sidestepped. A kunei hit the tree directly ahead of me. I turned around and activated my Kekkei Genkai and looked around the forest. The sun hadn't risen enough to light it up. My now fire-red eyes scanned the area. _There!_ I grabbed a kunei from my bag and lit it on fire. I threw it in the direction of a large heat signature. It quickly moved out of the way and into the open.

"So you found me." A mans voice came from above me. I grinned and grabbed another kunei. I lit it with a white fire and threw it towards the man.

"Don't think that fire can work on me! Water Release: Water Gun!" He yelled. A wall of water surrounded the man. My kunei cut through it with ease and hit the man in the chest. The fire quickly covered his entire body. He gave out a wail and fell from the tree branch.

"And that ends it." His body hit the forest floor; I jumped down to it. The man glared at me, blood pouring from his mouth.

"Ho-how?" He stuttered, I grinned and had the fire stop burning his body.

"Water can't stop my fire." I reached into the back of my bad and pulled out a piece of paper. "Yep, your him." I compared the man to a man pictured on the wanted paper.

"Says that you are wanted 'dead or alive.' Which one do you think I am going to pick?" Fear came into the wanted mans eyes. He started to tremble uncontrollably.  
"Please l-let me live." He coughed, I sighed and pulled out a rope from my bag. I quickly bound his arms and legs. Then placed my hand over his chest wound. Fire came into my hand and burned the wound shut. I picked the wanted man up and threw him over my shoulder. I started walking towards the village. The man quickly passed out from all of the blood that he lost.

"Wanted for killing five women. And look at how he ended up. A woman took him out. How ironic." I muttered, spotting the village in the distance. As I walked though the village, the people looked at me weird. Probably because I was a woman, who was doing something that most women can't do. Carrying a large man over their shoulder. I casually followed where the wanted paper lead me. I entered a house and threw the man on the ground.

"You actually got him?" A tiny man appeared around the corner. He looked down, than back up at me. "How did he get here?" He questioned.

"I just threw him over my shoulder and walked him here." I replied, looking down at the wanted man who was still passed out on the floor.

"You? Bu-but you're a woman? He was last seen over three miles from here?" The little man walked up and poked the passed out guy on the floor.

"Yeah, and?" I hated it when men underestimated women. That's partially why I loved doing my job so much. The way men looked at me whenever I bring back a bounty was priceless. A woman appeared with a bag of coins and handed them to me.

"Pl-lease ta-ke it." She bowed slightly and handed it to me. I nodded my thanks and turned to leave.

"Wait!" The little man yelled, I stopped and looked back over at him.

"Come with me to see the Raikage." That's when it all started. I followed the man deeper into the village. He led me into this large building and up a few flights of stairs. We finally stopped in front of a door. The small man knocked on it.

"Come in." A male voice came from the inside. The man had trouble opening the large door, so I had to do it for him.

"Lord Raikage, I brought you a very talented Bounty Hunter just like you requested." He bowed, a very large man that wasn't wearing a shirt turned and looked at me. I had my black hood on so he couldn't really see that much.

"Thank you Usui, that will be all." Usui bowed and left me with the Kage. As soon as the door shut behind me the Raikage stood up and walked towards me. Stopping so that we stood eye to eye. (Well more like me hurting my neck to look up at him)

"Remove your hood." He commanded, I obeyed and slid the black hood down. My hair fell all the way down to my thighs. He walked around me, looking up and down. He finally and looked at me. "I have a test for you. There is someone in this room. You need to find him without moving from your current position." I sighed and activated my Kekkei Genkai. My once sapphire colored eyes turned bright fire-red. I looked around the room, scanning the heat signatures. I blinked and my eyes turned blue once more.

"Did you give up?" He grinned.

"There are actually two other people in here besides us. One is under you desk. And the other is in the corner using a special jutsu that makes him blend in with the wall." I replied; His eyes widened in amazement. The two other people came out from their hiding places and stood being the Raikage. He smiled at me and dismissed the two shinobi from his side.

"Congratulations, you are now my bodyguard."

"Wait what?" I demanded. I didn't want to get involved with the Kages. Especially since Gaara was a Kage as well. "I don't want to be your bodyguard."

"You have to." The Raikage walked over to a large window. He looked out of it and continued. "You see. Each Kage is required to have a bodyguard. And the two that I normally take with me can't make it. And no one else in the village is nearly strong enough to be my bodyguard. I will pay you handsomely." I threw my black hood over my head once more and turned to leave.  
"Fine, when do we leave?" I asked before leaving. I only agreed to it because I wanted to see Gaara again. I haven't seen him in three years. Ever since we first met as kids, I came back every two years to see him. But that last time that I saw Gaara, I told him that the next time I saw him. I would stay with him permanently. The only reason why I always left him was because I wanted to grow in strength so that I could protect him. That is why I became a bounty hunter, so that I would face strong foes and help people out.

"You start tomorrow. Be here before sunrise." I left through the doorway. No one looked at me as I left.

"Eh? That's your new bodyguard?" I stood before the Raikage and his brother, Killer Bee. Killer bee couldn't believe that the Raikage hired me. He had been questioning me all morning. I was getting really tired of it.

"Bee, shut up." The Raikage growled. He was starting to get irritated.

"No! I just can't believe that you would hire someone so pretty as that kitty." He started raping. I had it. I have been called a demon before, but never, EVER a cat. I was about to walk up to Bee and give him a piece of my mind. But Ay took care of it for me. Soon Bee was passed out on the floor. Some Jinchuriki he was. The Raikage turned to me in his desk.

"Kyimara, we are leaving now. While my brother is still passed out." I nodded and followed the Raikage out from the room. We headed out into the village. Each of us carried a backpack filled with food and other necessities on our backs. The villagers had come to see us off.

"Good luck Raikage! Come back safely!" They all yelled. "Be careful with your new bodyguard!" I had never felt suck warmth in a village before. Ay waved back, a smile on his face.

"Don't you worry, I have confidence in her!" He yelled back, we turned and left. I had my black hood covering my face. I wasn't use to having so many people around. I liked it though, made me feel right at home. We took off in the direction of the Land of Iron. The Kages had been meeting there a few times every month. They decided that it was the safest place to meet. I had to agree, it snowed ninety percent of the time, all year round. It would take us a good few days to get there. And we were already running late. I looked at the Raikage from the corner of my eye. _He is going to be freezing without a shirt. _I sighed _as if he would listen though. _The landscape soon started changing as the sun slowly set.

"Raikage, shouldn't we take shelter for the night?" I asked him, still keeping up with him as he ran. He looked at me then straight ahead.

"Terribly sorry Kyimara, since we are late we can't stop. Tomorrow we can though."

"We are going to have to when we get into the Land of Iron. I guarantee that there will be a few snowstorms stopping us." It was a good thing that I was use to running for a full day at a time. Being a bounty hunter sometimes called for you to run for your life. Until either you, or the person chasing you gave up. It was gruesome work. But I grew tremendously in strength because it happened several times. But that was a few years ago. So I didn't know I would keep up.

"Say Kyimara, how long have you bee a bounty hunter?" Ay asked, I looked at him as the night continued on and replied.

"Five years."

"Really? That's impressive." We didn't talk other than that. My legs started to get tired about halfway through the night. I wasn't about to tell the Raikage though. I was hired to be able to keep up with him. So I wasn't about to let that stop me. My foot suddenly slipped and I fell straight into a fallen tree. I hit my head and my eye started bleeding.

"Damn it!" I cursed, standing back up. Ay stopped and turn to me.

"Are you alright?" He asked me.

"Yeah, I just hit my eye." The blood wouldn't stop. I held it in pain but continued to follow A. The sun just rose in the dark sky. Turning to it to a beautiful blood red color. I looked up at it with my one good eye. _Blood red? Well this can't be good. _We entered into the Land of Iron. We continued onwards into the land. The ground soon grew snowy the further we went. The snow started to fall faster. I had a sickening feeling in my stomach.

"Ay"  
"I know." He stopped and looked around the clearing. "There is a cave up there." I nodded and followed him. Ay stopped and I went into the cave first to make sure that it was safe. I activated my Kekkei Genkai and quickly searched that cave. More blood flowed from my eye.

"Its safe." He went inside I turned around and clutched my eye in pain. _Damn it, stupid eye. _I put my hand over my eye and burned the wound closed.

"Kyimara do you happen to use Fire Style?" Ay asked, I turned and nodded. Praying that he wouldn't notice my eye. I put down my backpack and searched through it. _Let me see here, blankets, food, more food, and here we go. Firewood. Now why did they pack firewood of all things? No wonder why this was so heavy. _I pulled it out and made sure that the ground was dry. Quickly confirming it was, I set it down and lit it on fire. I sighed and relaxed in its warmth. Ay leaned against the cave wall and quickly fell asleep. I closed my eyes too.

"Why does it have to be so cold here?!" Someone complained outside of the cave. My eyes shot open and I crept to its entrance. I pulled out a kunei and hit in a dark corner, thankful for my black cover.

"Konkuro stop complaining. "

"I just want warm weather. Is that too much to as-" He rounded the corner right into my awaiting kunei. Two men stood outside. My eyes widened as I realized that it was Konkuro and Gaara. My heart started beating faster as Gaara looked at me. Ay stepped out from the corner. Still holding the kunei to Konkuro's neck.

"Yo Bodyguard, its fine. It just the other Kage and his bodyguard." I removed the kunei and let them come inside around the fire. I lowered my hood, desperately trying to cover my face. I didn't want Gaara to know who I was. Not yet anyways.

"So I see that you have a new bodyguard Raikage." Gaara kept his eyes on me. I shifted uncomfortably from where I sat.

"Yeah, I almost lost my neck." Konkuro grabbed his neck as if imagining it. Ay gave out a hearty laugh.

"Yeah I like her!"

"It's a her?" Konkuro looked at me in shock. "You mean I almost got taken out by a girl?" My eye twitched, Konkuro was ticking me off just like usual.

"Yeah and I am about to do it again." I threatened; he scooted back several feet and hid behind Gaara.

"I haven't seen this side of you yet Kyimara." Ay laughed, Gaara's eyes widened.

"What was that name Raikage?" He asked; I started to panic.

"Kai-"

"Snow stopped." I cut him off, standing up in the cave. I waved my hand over the fire and it went out. I quickly grabbed my bag and left them. Gaara followed me out of the cave. I hid more underneath my hood.

"Is it really you Kyimara?" He asked me desperately. I couldn't bear to look at him. It took all of my strength not to reply. Konkuro and Ay came out just in time. Ay must have noticed my desperation.

"Come along then bodyguard, we need to be the first ones there." We dashed off from them. I could feel Gaara's eyes watching me as I left. As soon as we were out of earshot Ay looked at me. "What was that all about?" He demanded, I sighed.

"It's a long story. Just don't tell him my name." I pleaded; Ay rolled his eyes.

"I get it now, alright Kyimara. But I expect for you to tell me the story later."

"It's a promise." I dreaded the moment. A few minutes later we arrived at the tower. We were quickly led into a large room. Hot tea and rolls awaited us inside. We each took a roll and devoured it. Soon the other Kages came in. Everyone sat down at their seats and the bodyguards stood behind them.

"Damn it! If only we knew where they were hiding!" Ay slammed his fists down on the table. I could feel his frustration.

"Calm down Raikage, I have the Anbu Black Opps looking for them." The Hokage looked over at him. I looked up, my eyes narrowing slightly. _Why do I feel like I am being watched?_ The Kages continued on their conversation. I activated my Kekkei Genkei and looked around the large room. I quickly found the source of the uneasy feeling. Someone was hiding on the other side of the window with a special jutsu that hides their appearance and chakra signature. I casually leaned down and whispered into Ay's ear.

"So if I see someone, I attack right?"

"Right. That is why I hired you." I looked at the heat signature in wonder. It pulled something out and pointed it at the Hokage. Something came out through the glass. I jumped onto the table and stood in front of the Hokage. I grabbed something in the air that was covered in poison. The Kages stopped talking and looked at me. I threw the dart on the table and jumped out the window. Glass broke around me as I ran right into the attacker. We both started falling from the fifth floor window. I grabbed the flailing assassin by his shirt. But instead of attacking me, he did the opposite.

"Save me!" The attacker yelled, holding onto me with fear. I glared down at the small man. Refusing to help as we fell to our certain doom.

"Tell me why you just tried to kill the Hokage!" I demanded. Just two more stories to go until we hit the bottom

"I was hired to! Well actually a man made me. Just save me!" I sighed and wings of light came out from my back. I flew back into the room at the top of the tower. I went back inside with the man on my shoulder. I didn't notice that my hood came off from my head. Allowing my hair to move freely once more. I landed and my wings disappeared. Everyone looked at me in awe. Gaara was in complete shock. I grabbed the man from his shirt collar.

"What man!" I demanded, tightening my grip on his neck.

"I don't know! He was wearing some weird outfit that had red clouds on it." Pain throbbed through my wounded eye. I put the man down and grabbed my left eye.

"What was in that dart?" The tiny man grinned and looked up at me.

"Poison, if you have an open wound. The poison will go into it. Its quite evil if I must say so myself." My eye burned, I closed it and reached forward to punch the tiny man.

"Wait Kyimara! Don't kill him just yet. We still have to get information out of him." My fist shook. I gritted my teeth and punched the ground instead.

"Tell me what the cure to this is!" I demanded.

"Okay I have to spit on it." He reached up and spat in my left eye. But it only made it sting more.

"I want to kill you so badly" I gritted my teeth. Blood started flowing out from my eye. Tsunade the Hokage came up to us and put her hand over my eye. Purple fluid started to come out of it with the blood.

"This makes up for saving me earlier." I blinked and stood up. The tiny man started laughing from the ground.

"You stupid woman! You cannot beat my poison!" my eye twitched and I punched the man on his head. He passed out on the floor. I sighed and picked the man up and threw him onto my shoulder. I walked pass the Kages and to a wall. I was still bleeding from the glass. I didn't care though. I was use to being injured so much. Growing up it was rare for me to be completely free from any wounds. My father was very abusive and would beat me when I didn't listen to him. Luckily he died several years ago. I don't know how though. I was in the Sand Village and I found him on the outskirts dead. My father married my mother Kanna because her family had a special jutsu that skips a generation. It skipped her, so now I have special eyes that can sense heat signatures. Strangely, whenever I use this special Kekkei Genkai, my eyes turn to the color of fire. (Bright red with yellow in the middle) It comes in handy once in a while.

"Come on Kyimara, we are leaving." I blinked and hit the tiny man in the face before I left.

"Already?" I asked

"Yes, only me the Hokage, and Kazekage were able to make it. The Tsuchkage and Mizukage are out on the battlefield." I nodded and followed Ay out from the room. I could feel Gaara's eyes watching me as I left. _Don't worry Gaara, I will come for you, just you wait. _I silently promised.


	3. Chapter 3

In the weeks afterward I had been thinking non-stop about what to do. I wanted to see Gaara again and never leave again. But then again, I wasn't sure that I was strong enough to protect him yet. That was exactly why I left in the first place. He was a Kage now. And extremely tough people go after Kages all the time. That's why I am staying with the Raikage for now. I want to see what it is like. And how hard it is protecting a Kage. All these years of being a bounty hunter are finally coming in handy.

"Kyimara come here!" I dashed though the door and stopped.

"Yes Raikage?" He turned and grabbed my arm.

"I need you to come with me." I blinked and nodded. He led me into the town. I quickly heard people screaming. _Not again._ I though, a huge crowd came blocked out path.

"Yeaa!" Killer Bee's voice boomed out though the crowd. The Raikage turned me around and looked down at me.

"Can you handle Killer Bee for me? I am about to kill him." Ay asked me desperately.

"Sure, that's what I am here for I guess." He shoved me into the crowd. I made my way though the crowd and looked up at him on the stage. Bee started doing this incredibly stupid rap again.

"She is so pretty, she will be my kitty." _Not the cat again!_ My eyes narrowed, trying to think of a way to try and get Killer Bee to stop. Then I got it, and it would scare the crap out of him too. Bonus! I moved back and climbed onto a freakishly tall building.

"Summoning Jutsu." I bit my thumb and stamped it on the ground. A puff of smoke came around me. A dragon appeared and bowed slightly.

"Lady Kyimara, what can I do for you?" I looked up at the large red dragon and grinned.

"Gietsu, do you see that concert down there?" I crept over the side of the building, pointing down at it.

"Yes." Gietsu looked at me. "Let me guess, you want me to go down there and crash it right?" I nodded; a mischievous flare went into my eyes. Gietsu sighed and took off from the building. He gave out a fearsome roar and landed on the stage. The crowd took off screaming. Killer Bee looked at Gietsu in terror.

"Now where did you come from?" Gietsu bared his fangs at Bee.

"I bring a message. Don't ever have another concert. Got it?" He roared; I snickered from my place on the roof. Bee nodded as Gietsu took off and came back to me. He landed with a huge _thud. _ I was afraid that the roof was going to collapse. I grinned up at Gietsu.

"Thank you Gietsu. I owe you again." GIetsu rolled his crimson colored eyes at me and disappeared. I sighed, pleased with my work, and headed to the Raikage's office again. I was starting to get quite popular in the Village. The village children constantly hung around me. I didn't mind though. In every village I went to, I always made friends with the children first, then with everyone else.

"Kyimara!" I turned around only to see one of the village kids again. I smiled at her as she ran up and hugged me. "Can you play with me today?" She pleaded, looking up at me with huge eyes.

"I can't today, I have to go see the Raikage again." She blinked and squeezed me hard. _Here we go again _I sighed, Gia started bawling right in the middle of the street. People turned and looked at me like I was some kind of monster. I gave a cheesy grin and back up into a near bye ally way.

"Gia, please stop crying; I can play with you tomorrow." I leaned down and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I have to go now. I will see you tomorrow." I kissed the top of her head. She giggled and ran off to find her parents. I took off again to the Raikage's office. A few minutes later I arrived at his office. I knocked on the door and entered. The Raikage was busy pouring over his work. His secretary with the big boobs was standing by him. Ay looked up as I entered the room.

"Did you take care of it?" He asked

"Yes, I don't think that he will be having a other concert for a while." I snickered, recalling the incident. He looked up at his secretary and waved his hand for her to leave. She bowed slightly and walked past me and out of the door. The door slammed behind me, Ay gestured for me to come over to him.

"Tell me Kyimara, are you going to go to the Sand Village?" He asked. Earlier I had told him the entire story between Gaara and I. He was the first person I told about it. I looked down at the ring I had on my wedding finger. Gaara gave it to me when we first met as children. I never took it off since then. It was just a simple ring, made out of nothing more than some rope. That way no one would guess that it was an engagement ring.

"Kyimara, take it." I recalled that moment in my head. Me as a little girl looked down at the ring in wonder.

"Gaara, what is it for?" I asked

"It is a engagement ring. It's the only thing that I could find. So here." Gaara grabbed my left hand.

"I Gaara, promise to marry you when I get older." He slipped it on my wedding finger. I smiled up at him. It was the happiest moment of my young life. And would be for the rest of my life so far.

"And I, Kyimara, promise to accept this ring in the future. And marry Gaara of the Sand." I reached up and kissed Gaara right as the sun set. I blinked out of my thoughts and sighed. I found myself once more in the Raikage's office.

"I don't know." I looked down thinking hard." I really want to, and yet. I am afraid that I am not strong enough to protect him." Ay gave out a laugh and looked at me.

"You? Not strong enough? You saved the Hokage's life! You saw that assassin before anyone else did. And the Kages take pride in being the strongest shinobi in their village! You'll do fine." I looked up in startled a little.

"Are you sure about that?" I questioned, Ay nodded at me like I was a little child.

"Go Kyimara, and tell me how I goes." I nodded and ran out from the room. Determination in my eyes, I was ready, I was now sure of it. I would go and find Gaara, and I would be the best damn bodyguard that ever lived.


End file.
